Featuring Women's History, Women Authors, Writing In General, And Author Interviews. Home of the Teresa Thomas Bohannon author of the Historical, Paranormal Romance, Shadows In A Timeless Myth, the Regency Romance Novel, A Very Merry Chase, and the illustrated version of Jane Austen's posthumously published Juvenilia, The Widow's Tale.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Presents The Daring Escape of Mary Queen of Scots from Loch Leven Castle.

THE DARING ESCAPE OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS.

1568.

When the confederate Scotch lords had taken Mary Stuart prisoner after
her defeat at Carberry Hill, and had resolved to dethrone her, they sent
her for safe custody to the castle of Loch Leven, situate on a small
island in the middle of the lake of that name. They chose this gloomy
place, not only because it was nearly inaccessible, but because the
hapless lady would there be in the keeping of that most watchful of all
gaolers, a mortal enemy. Margaret Erskine, mother of William Douglas,
the owner of the castle, had had a son by James V., whom it pleased her
to regard as the legitimate heir to the throne of Scotland, and she
hated Mary as an obstacle to her schemes of ambition. Religious
differences intensified this feeling, for Margaret was a zealous
Presbyterian. In short, her character, her faith, her family pride, and
the natural harshness of her temper, all conspired to make her an
inexorable guardian of the unfortunate Queen.

After Mary had been compelled by violence to renounce the crown in
favour of her son, she was placed in the most rigorous confinement, the
strictest watch being kept over her to prevent her, not only from
effecting her escape, but from holding any sort of communication with
the outer world. Many of the sovereigns of Europe were well disposed
towards her, but she was not allowed to write to her friends, though she
sometimes found an opportunity of doing so while the daughters of
Margaret, who shared her chamber, were asleep, or at their meals. The
cruelty of these restraints defeated their end, for it touched the very
son her gaoler, George Douglas, with compassion for the captive Queen,
and led him to form a plan for her escape. But his first attempt to aid
her was unsuccessful.

It was arranged that the Queen should leave the
castle in the dress of the laundress who brought her linen to Loch
Leven, and that George Douglas and a number of his partisans should be
ready to receive her as soon she had crossed the lake. The appointed
day came; the young man was at his post, and the Queen, thanks to her
disguise, had actually got clear of the castle, and reached the boat,
when one of the boatmen, struck by the figure of the pretended
laundress, attempted to lift her veil, and the hasty gesture with which
the Queen resisted his touch, revealed a hand too white and too
delicately formed to be that of a hard-working girl. The man at once
guessed her real rank, but even at that moment Mary did not lose her
presence of mind. She declared her name and title, and ordered him, on
pain of death, to row her across the lake. The name of Margaret Erskine
had, however, greater terror for the fellow than that of Mary Stuart;
and the Queen was taken back to captivity again.

As the penalty of this unfortunate attempt of the 25th March, George
Douglas was sent away from the island. This did not, however, make him
one whit the less eager to succeed in his noble design; and he confided
the Queen to the care of one who was equally devoted to her—his
brother, a youth of fifteen or sixteen, called the “Little Douglas,” and
employed as page to his mother.

Mary was, of course, made to suffer more heavily, and every fresh
precaution against her escape took the form of a new torture. Her life
became almost unendurable. She wrote to Elizabeth, to Catherine de’
Medicis, and to Charles IX., supplicating them for aid, but before any
of them could move in her favour other help was at hand. George Douglas
had never forgotten his promise to set her free. He used the liberty
gained by his banishment from the castle in extending the circle of her
friends. He engaged the powerful families of the Seatons and the
Hamiltons in her cause, and with their aid formed a more carefully
prepared plan than the last for her escape. It was arrangedthat on a
given night they should be waiting for her where he had formerly waited.
The page, young Douglas, undertook the rest.

Sunday, the 2nd May, 1568,
was the day fixed for the execution of the project. The whole household
at Loch Leven took their meals in a common hall; and while they were
together the keys of the fortress were placed on the table by the
governor’s side. At supper time on the appointed night the young page
watched his opportunity; and while he held out his plate to be filled,
he contrived to get possession of the keys without being for the moment
observed. He at once ran to Mary’s chamber and released her, and then
led her to the boat, locking every door behind him on his way to
diminish the chances of pursuit. He then threw the keys into the lake,
and took the oars, after handing the Queen and her waiting-woman into
their seats, and pulled vigorously for the shore. Before leaving the
castle he had placed a signal light in one of the windows, so that when
the Queen stepped from the boat she found her friends waiting to receive
her. She at once took horse, and accompanied by Lord Seaton, galloped
hard for that nobleman’s house at Niddry, in East Lothian, whence after
a few hours’ repose she made her way to the more strongly fortified
castle of the Hamiltons. She was received there by the Archbishop St.
Andrew’s and Lord Claude, who had gone out to meet her with fifty
horses.

The news of this escape, according to Scott, spread through
Scotland with the rapidity of lightning, and the Queen was greeted
everywhere with enthusiasm. The people remembered her affability, her
grace, her beauty, and her misfortunes; and if they remembered her
errors too, it was only to say that she had been punished for them too
severely. On Sunday Mary had been a sad captive, abandoned to her
enemies in a solitary tower; and on the Saturday following she found herself at the head of a powerful confederation, in
which nine counts, eight lords, nine bishops, and a great number of
gentlemen of the highest rank were engaged to defend her and to restore
her to her throne. But this ray of hope only illumined her sombre
destiny for an instant. On February 8, 1587, Mary Queen of
Scots was beheaded for treason. Mary's son, King James VI of Scotland became king of England, Scotland, and Ireland upon Queen Elizabeth's death
in 1603.

The keys thrown into the lake by the page were found by a fisherman in
1805, and are now placed at Kinross. The place where the fugitive Queen
landed, on the southern shore of the lake, is still called Mary’s Knoll

Smiles & Good Fortune,Teresa************************************It
is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity,
to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent. W.
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915

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Hello and Welcome

I love women's history, but even more, I love women's historical fiction. Why? A favorite quote of mine about history in general and Women's History in particular, from perhaps the world's most famous Woman Author, sums it all up perfectly.

"I read it a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all—it is very tiresome: and yet I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention. The speeches that are put into the heroes' mouths, their thoughts and designs— the chief of all this must be invention, and invention is what delights me in other books."Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

Thank you for visiting,Teresa Thomas BohannonAuthor of A Very Merry ChaseAnd Shadows In A Timeless MythAvailable for Kindle, Nook & now...also in Large Print Paperback.PS: The links on this page that lead to pages (usually on Amazon) where purchases can be made, are affiliate links which help to support this blog.

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About Me

Teresa Thomas Bohannon is a published author, web designer, hosting & domain provider & (occasional) internet marketing consultant. Teresa founded Spun Silk Web Design in December of 1995 as one of the first free standing female owned web design firms in the country.
As of late, Teresa has returned to her roots, utilizing the exciting new world of online publishing to present a backlog of original novels and short stories to the world--beginning with A Very Merry Chase--a Regency romance novel which she originally wrote some 35 years ago. :) In late 2011 she published Shadows In A Timeless Myth a Paranormal Historical Fantasy/Romance/Horror Novel.
Teresa holds an MA in history--with a haphazardly obtained--concentration in women's studies. In addition, she is the Director of Human Resources for a non-profit agency.
Teresa's personal cause is revitalizing literacy by reading "with" children.